P—001—MKC
M.K. Čiurlionis Concert Centre
Reference
P—001—MKC
Project
Concert Hall and Conference Centre
Location
Kaunas - Lithuania
Client
Malcolm Reading Consultants
Design Team
Brando Posocco, Madhav Kidao, Marco Mazzotta, Alex Laing
Status
Submitted - Shortlisted (as MAMBA)
Introduction
A shortlisted competition entry for a new Concert Hall, Conference Center and public park in Kaunas, Lithuania. The basis of our proposal was to create a series of individual performance spaces embedded within the park. We are very interested in the transportative nature of performance and our design looked at making increasingly layered and intimate spaces that each carried the audience to a new experience. A series of gardens, courtyards and terraces weave through the solid masses, knitting the structures together. A dense forest is restored within the park and complimented by wetlands along the waterfront. The principal concert hall is a 1500 seat modified shoebox, designed to maximise the feeling of audience intimacy. Careful consideration was taken to enhance sight lines and provide excellent acoustics. The materiality of the space was chosen to echo the natural surroundings and provide warmth and tactility.
The planning of the building is based upon a model of distributed functions. By separating each of the various program elements and their associated requirements the building allows for maximum flexibility and simultaneous usage. The public square acts as the heart of the scheme providing access and porosity on multiple levels, ensuring that the building's contribution to the city is as much to the public realm as it is to the performing arts. The public are able to enter the building from multiple points, congregating in the central courtyard. By breaking up the building into smaller volumes, new pockets emerge, acting as intimate gardens for patrons and artists alike. This multi-tiered distribution promotes impromptu and varied performance opportunities, including an amphitheatre from the courtyard to the river, and an innovative public square incorporating the second hall. Throughout vegetation plays an integral role tying every space back to the park.
